Toy military tank



y 1951 H. FORNARY 2,551,109

TOY MILITARY TANK Filed 2 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor Harry F ornarya y x7 WWW 1, 1951 H. FORNARY 2,551,109

' TOY MILITARY TANK Filed Oct. 27, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor l8Harry Fomary WWW 8m Patented May 1, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE2,551,109 TpY MILITARY TANK Harry Fornary, Racine, Wis. ApplicationOctober 27, 1947,. Serial No. 782,274 3 Claims. (01. 43-204) Myinvention relates to improvements in toy military tanks of the typeadapted to be pulled along a floor, or the like.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a simply constructedinexpensive device of the character indicated equipped with guns andconstructed and arranged to render the toy intensely interesting andappealing to children, and which is easy to propel and otherwise handleand will not quickly get out of order.

Other and subordinate objects, also within the purview of my invention,together with the precise nature of my improvements will be readilyunderstood when the succeeding description and claims are read withreference to the drawings accompanying and forming part of thisspecification.

In said drawings:

Figure l is a view in side elevation of my improved toy military tank ina preferred embodiment thereof;

Figure 2 is a view in vertical longitudinal section drawn to a largerscale;

Figure 3 is a view in horizontal section taken on the line 33 ofFigure2;

Figure 4 is a view in vertical transvers section taken on the line 4-4of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a detail view in longitudinal vertical section taken on theline 55 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a detail view in transverse section taken on the line 5-6 ofFigure 2; and

Figure 7 is a view of a modification of the invention in plan.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, ac- OOI'dil'lg to my invention,as illustrated, a gun carriage is provided comprising a hollow,elongated carriage body! with vertical, parallel sides 2, a rear end 3outwardly rounded in vertical section, and a front end 4 similarlyrounded and slanting upwardly and rearwardly to a downwardly andrearwardly inclined platform top 5 removably fitted between the sides 2and resting upon longitudinal side bars 6 secured to said sides, as atl. A handle-forming cleat 5' is provided on the top 5 for use inremoving the same. The bottom 8 of the carriage body I is preferablyformed of a separate panel suitably secured in place as by glue, orcement, not shown. A cross cleat 9 in the carriage body I with studsextending upwardly therefrom through the top and having nuts I I thereonsecures said top 5 in place.

The carriage body I is supported by pairs .of front and rear wheels I2,l3 on front and rear live axles l4, l5 journaled in the sides 2 with atleast one wheel of the pair thereon suitably fixed theretofor drivingthe same. Traction belts ll, l8 connect the front and rear wheels [2, E3in pairs upon opposite sides of the carriage body I for rotation inunison when said belts are engaged with the floor, or the like, and thecarriage caused to travel thereover.

An eye screw l9 in the front end 4 of the carriage body I provides forattaching a pull cord, not shown, to said body.

A forwardly and upwardly inclined missile ejecting gun 20 surmounts thecarriage body I in the vertical longitudinal center thereof for ejectingball missiles shown by dotted lines at 2|. The gun 20 comprises a barrel22 with a breech block 23 having a tube 24 extending rearwardly into thesame on top of said barrel parallel with said barrel and forming withsaid breech block a rearwardly and downwardly inclined, gravity feedmagazine 25 for missiles 2| inserted in the front end of said tube andtending to roll rearwardly in the magazine 25 because of the inclinationthereof. A drop opening 26 in the top of the barrel 22 at the rear ofthe magazine 25 provides for the missiles 2! in the magazine 25'dropping, one by one, into the barrel 22 adjacent the rear end of saidbarrel. Lateral studs 21 on the breech block 23 journaled in uprightbearings 28 secured on the top 5, as at 29, provide forverticalswinging'of the gun 2|] to vary the angle of inclination thereof.

A transverse crank rod 30 on the top 5, beneath the barrel 22 andforwardly of the pivotal axis of the gun 20, is journaled in bearings 3ion said top 5 for rotation by an upstanding hand lever 32 thereon towipingly engage the same with the bottom of the barrel 22 and therebyelevate the muzzle end of said barrel and vary the angle of inclinationof said gun. By rotating said crank rod 30 away from said barrel 22, thegun 20 will swing, under the influence of gravity, to lower the muzzleend of the barrel 22 and also vary the angle of inclination of the gun,it being understood that the pivotal axis of the gun 2B is arranged sothat said gun is overbalanced forwardly of said axis. A bottom notch 33in the barrel 22 seats the crank rod 30 to provide for latching the gun20 against swinging downwardly under the influence of gravity.

A disk-like missile ejecting plunger 34 is slidably fitted in the rearend of the barrel 22 and is fixed on the front end of an ejector rod 35slidably extended through the rear end of the breech block 23 into saidbarrel 22'. A coil spring 36' surrounds said rod 35 in thebarrel 22between said plunger 34 and the rear end of said breech block 23 and isadapted to move said rod and plunger forwardly in a manner presentlyclear.

Means now to be described are provided for intermittently sliding theejector rod 35 and plunger 34 rearwardly in the barrel 22 to compressthe coil spring 36 and move the plunger 34 to the rear of the opening26, said means bein operated by forward travel of the described carriageand releasing said rod 35 and plunger 34 so that the coil spring 36 willact to impel the plunger 34 forwardly and eject from the barrel 22 amissile 2| which has dropped from the magazine 25 into said barrel.

A gear wheel 31 is rotatably mounted in the carriage body I on one side2 and on a stud 38 and meshes with a relatively smaller gear wheel 39fast on the rear axle I5. A laterally extending tappet stud 40 on thegear wheel 31, eccentric to the axis of said wheel, is revolved by saidwheel into wiping engagement with an angular rear end tappet arm 4| onthe ejector rod 35 working in a longitudinal slot 42 in the top anddepending into said body I, said tappet stud 43 moving said tappet armrearwardly and then releasing the same during each revolution of saidwheel 31.

A pair of forwardly pointing, upwardly inclined twin mount dummy guns 44surmount the top 5 upon opposite sides of the gun 20 and at the frontportion of the carriage body I. The guns 44 are fixed in the upper endsof a pair of vertical posts 45 rotatably extended through the top 5 atopposite sides thereof with reduced lower ends 45 resting upon a crossbar 41 in said body I suitably secured to the sides 2. As will be seen,the posts 45 are adapted to be oscillated oppositely, relatively, toswing the guns 44 laterally and oppositely relatively.

A second pair of forwardly pointing, twin mount, dummy guns 48 areprovided in the carriage body I in the front end portion of said body toextend out of horizontal slots 49 in the front 4 upon opposite sides ofthe longitudinal center of said body. The guns 48 are swingablelaterally on vertical posts 50 upstanding from a cross bar 5| in saidbody I. The guns 48 are adapted to be swung laterally and oppositely,relatively also.

Means are provided for oscillating the posts 46 to correspondingly swingthe guns 44, and for swinging the guns 48, all in unison, and undertravel of the described carriage, said means comprising the following.

An endwise reciprocating slide bar 52 is mounted in the front portion ofthe carriage body I, between the posts of the pairs 46, 50, by means ofguides 53 supported by the bars 41, 5|, said bar 52 reciprocatingforwardly and rearwardly in said body. A pitman rod 54 connects thetappet stud 40 to the rear end of said bar 52. A rear end cross bar 55mortised into said slide bar 52 is operatively connected to the posts 56by a pair of rearwardly extending radial crank rods 56 on said postssuitably fixed at one end in said posts and slidable in swivel eyescrews 51 upstanding from opposite ends of said cross bar 55. A pair ofcrank rods 58, similar to crank rods 56, with one end suitably fixed inthe guns 48 with the remainder of said rods slidably extended, incrossed relation, through a double eye screw 59 upstanding from thefront end of the slide bar 52 operatively connect said bar 52 to saidguns 48. The eyes in the eye screw 59 are sufficiently larger than thecrank rods 58 to provide a clearance between said rods and eyes so thatsaid rods may swivel in said eyes.

A rattling device is provided comprising a toothed wheel 60 fast on thefront axle I4 within the carriage body I and wipingly engaging the freeend of a resilient clapper bar 6| fixed in one end of a sound amplifyingbox 62 in the carriage body I, said wheel and bar making a rattlingnoise in a manner which will be understood.

The operation of the described invention will be readily understood.With the magazine 25 filled with missiles 2|, the carriage is propelledforwardly, the traction belts I8 rotating the wheels |2, I3 so that thefront and rear axles I4, I5 are revolved counter-clockwise as viewed inFigure 2. Suchrevolution of the rear axle I5 causes the gear wheel 31 tobe revolved clockwise to correspondingly revolve the tappet stud 40. Assaid tappet stud 40 is thus revolved, it wipingly engages and thenreleases the tappet arm 4| intermittently. This causes the ejector rod35 and plunger 34 to be slid rearwardly and released intermittently.Rearward sliding of said rod 35 and plunger 34 compresses the coilspring 36 and positions said plunger to the rear of the opening 26 sothat a missile 2| may drop out of the magazine 25 into the barrel 22 infront of said plunger. As soon as said rod 35 and the plunger 34 arereleased, the coil spring 36 reacts to move the same forwardly to ejectthe missile 2|. During operation of the gun 20, it may be aimed in themanner already described. Durin the described operation of the gun 20,the pitman rod 54 reciprocates the slide bar 52. This causes the crankrods 56, in a manner which will be clear, to be oscillated in oppositedirections, relatively, and the posts 46 to be correspondinglyoscillated to swing the guns 44 laterally in opposite directionsrelatively. At the same time,

the crank rods 58 are operated like the crank rods 56 to swing the guns48 in opposite directions relatively. While the guns 22, 44, 48 arebeing operated, as described, the rattling device is being operated bythe front axle I4 to simulate the noise of such guns being fired.

In the modified embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 7, the rearaxle |5a is provided with a crank I6a to which the pitman 54a isconnected. This obviates the use of the gear wheels 31, 39 of thepreferred embodiment for operating the slide bar 52.

The foregoing will, it is believed, suifice to impart a clearunderstanding of my invention, without further explanation.

Manifestly, the invention, as described, is susceptible of modificationwithout departing from the inventive concept, and right is hereinreserved to such modifications as fall Within the scope of the appendedclaims. Y

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a toy military tank, a gun carriage including a body having frontand rear pairs of wheels, a live axle for one pair of wheels traversingsaid body, a gun surmounting said body in the longitudinal centerthereof, a pair of laterally spaced guns surmounting said body onopposite sides of the first-named gun and pivotally mounted to said bodyfor horizontal swinging in opposite directions, respectively, a secondpair of laterally spaced guns below the first pair pivotally mounted insaid body upon opposite sides of the longitudinal center thereof forhorizontal swinging in opposite directions respectively and extendingoutwardly of said body, a bar slidably mounted in said body between theguns of said pairs for reciprocation longitudinally of the body,operating connections extending between each end of the bar to one ofthe pairs of guns for swinging of the guns of the pairs in unison inopposite directions respectively upon reciprocation of said bar, a drivebetween said axle and bar for reciprocating said bar, and ejecting meansfor said first-named gun operative under control of said drive in timedrelation to reciprocation of the bar to time ejection from thefirst-named gun with relation to swinging of the guns of the pairs.

2. In a toy military tank, a gun carriage including a body having frontand rear pairs of wheels, a live axle for one pair of wheels traversingthe body, a pair of laterally spaced guns surmounting said body uponopposite sides of the longitudinal center of the body and pivotallymounted to said body for horizontal swinging in opposite directionsrespectively, a second pair of laterally spaced guns below the firstpair pivotally mounted in said body upon opposite sides of said centerfor horizontal swinging in opposite directions, respectively, andextending outwardly of the body, a bar slidably mounted in the bodybetween the guns of said pairs for reciprocation longitudinally of thebody, 'operating connections extending laterally from each end of thebar to one pair of the guns for swinging the guns of the pairs in unisonin opposite directions respectively upon reciprocation of said bar, anda drive between said axle and bar for reciprocating said bar.

3. A toy military tank according to claim REFERENCES CITED The followingreferences are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,083,361 Gilson Jan. 6, 19141,151,663 Carter Aug. 31, 1915 1,265,718 Ahearn May 14, 1918 1,282,549Dittrick Oct. 22, 1918 1,289,621 Blackshear Dec. 31, 1918 1,343,834Lewis et al June 15, 1920 1,707,826 'Isobanacos Apr. 2, 1929 1,759,128Marx May 20,- 1930 1,813,985 Blackmore July 14, 1931 1,834,395 GavlakDec. 1, 1931 2,279,386 Carver Apr. 14, 1942 2,388,638 Lawrence Nov. 6,1945 2,409,839 Criner Oct. 22, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date552,609 Great Britain Apr. 15, 1943 568,925 Great Britain Apr. 26, 1945

